For Better or For Worse by Lynn Johnston for November 01, 2021

You can cure that by buying a fast sports car

Th’event of a lifetime.

John does not need to be 12 again in order to do fun and interesting things. He needs to remember he is the father of that 12-year-old and there is always a need for parents to help out, like maybe volunteering to chaperone that event, or at least he goes to Ottawa and sees it happen. Come on, John. Don’t be the kind of dad who regrets.

I think my school choir went to Carnegie Hall while I was in a coma. :(

While John, You could make that one more sale.

All good suggestions, but John was right. Being 12 was a lot of fun in 1957.

Maybe you are twelve, mentally….

Life wasn’t an end-to-end disaster when I was 12 (my favorite baseball team played their first game a month before I turned 13, for instance), but my memory is good enough for me to know I’d NEVER want to go through it again.

Church choirs and bake sales? What happened to the Liz a month ago who was smoking cigs in the back alley with her rebellious friends? What happened to Gordon and Tracey making out at the all night dance? Were they banned by the censor board for making this cartoon too adult themed and raunchy? Maybe so, here even the adult father is being reverted to 12 years old?

No, you don’t want to be 12 again…

A memory: I remember my school chorus going to sing at City Hall one Christmas season. When the mayor showed up, a lot of the other kids were impressed & intimidated, whereas I’m there waving & shouting, “Hi, Uncle Mo!” (My dad was an alderman under this Mayor for a few years & he was a close family friend.)

Makes me want to visit Canada’s capital. (From one who has some Canadian descent.)

How old is she? I thought she was in high school?

I liked school field trips. I suppose it was some of the more mundane places I liked the best. The telephone company, the water company, the dump, and even a few farms and ranches. All were fascinating to me. Now I don’t even know were the water works is or where the city dump is.

By age 12 I was already too old to enjoy things like that type of trip. I was too busy working after school, weekends and holidays to think about doing frivolous things like trips, school clubs, or social activities. I’d even given up trick or treating by then.

Strange how the TV series and Films from the 60´s are really dated but the music isn´t.

Chaperones will be required.

I’m Canadian and I live in Ottawa but have not memory of this Carol Fest at the Parliament Buildings. Can anyone tell me more?

In the USA it would be a Karen Fest

I’d rather be 9. Yes, 9 sounds right.

They could use a chaperon.

Members of my high school class still get together once a month to have lunch and reminisce. But the group keeps shrinking. Our 60th reunion is just a couple of years away.

I know that feeling, Elizabeth’s class will have fun time.

Not me.

Went to Ottawa once in the 1990’s.Chateau Laurier luxury hotel and the sight of people ICE SKATING to work along theriver adjoining the hotel.

Me too John, me too…

We all have days like that. Life was simpler for most of us at 12…..

Some youth choirs attending choir gatherings in their states stay in a multistory hotel in which there is a central atrium going to the top floor. They like to sing on the balconies or walkways facing the atrium. I imagine these are fun for the kids.

At their annual meetings, Kentucky All State Choirs sing the U.S. National Anthem every night.

That’s been my desire for the last 50 years.

Being 12 wasn’t so bad. But being in seventh grade totally sucked.

Not for all the tea in China, John!!!!

You wore a rabbit costume yesterday, John. That is as close to 12 as society will allow.

My girls did this in elementary school at more local events. It didn’t matter that they didn’t go far- meeting with friends in strange places and singing in front of crowds was a joy! They quit choir soon- the older one for visual art, and my oldest and youngest for band- but the memories were priceless, and now we have band fun!